John Fedchock Master Class – Big Band Arranging – May 27, 2006

On May 27th, 2006 the ASMAC Master Class program featured New York Trombonist, Composer and Arranger, John Fedchock who discussed his unique approach to writing for big band. This was the first time we were able to have a New York arranger visit our program. John was formerly the musical director and featured soloist for Woody Herman for over 8 years, and 2 albums they did together garnered several grammy nominations. His own albums with the New York Big Band have also been up for Grammy nominations. The attendees included some of LA’s finest studio musicians, as well as other arrangers, and students. All were treated to hearing John’s individual pieces that had been selected for the program and were able to view the scores as he talked about how he approached composition and arranging for big band. Attendees were able to take home a CD containing PDF files of the scores, Finale and Sibelius files, and MP3’s of that material. The response from all was overwhelmingly favorable. John was described as humble, knowledgeable, informative and gracious. A very special thanks to Mike Julian and LA Valley College